(via AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Two of my favorite car companies have partnered together, Ford and Toyota, to work on my favorite drive topology, rear-wheel drive, with everyone's favorite engine system, the hybrid.

● The partnership sets the two companies on equal footing in an effort to create and advanced hybrid system for rear-wheel drive light trucks and SUVs.

● The goal is to deliver greater fuel efficiency while not compromising the performance of the vehicles.

● The team will also work towards developing the next-generation standards for in vehicle internet and digital communication systems.

● Ford and Toyota pledge to deliver the new tech within the coming decade.

I like where their minds are at. However, I would like to see this same hybrid RWD system come to consumer and sport cars. I believe I am not the only one. Perhaps market demand with usher in a new revival for RWD. We can only hope.

Cabe

Self taught, Terry Hope has made his own solar power generating electric bicycle. Hope fitted the stock Specialized FRS 18 speed bike with a front grill and windshield for mounting eighteen 6"x6" mono crystalline sollar cells. Approximately 4 watt (@ 8.7v) output on each cell. Totaling 72 watts if all conditions are ideal. A 24V motor controller moves the 1 HP motor at the core of the project. Batteries are 6s1p 5000mah LIPO as the main, and two 4s1p LIPO 5000mah as "booster packs" which are wired in series. I assume he uses the "boosters" to overdrive the motor. Across the handle bars are several buttons used to turn the solar on or off for direct use, button for the booster, and the all important red E-stop. Hope added toggles to use solar for battery charging.

The motor itself drives the main sprocket. As with most multi-speed bicycles, the pedals are not engaged by the motor. The drive system is very unique compared to other electric bicycles. However, this is not ready for mass production. It is still very much a labor of love. I like the smaller electric bicycle Hope has made more than the 18 speed, see his launch page.

Can we do better? Help me build an electric bicycle with the rest of the community.

Cabe

Here is a perfect example of, "I can not believe this has not been done already."

Aalto University in Finland is testing the use of hybrid technology in non-road, mobile industrial machinery. Think Prius versions of cranes, bulldozers, tractors, and diggers. Their concept is to capture of the energy from the work being performed by each machine that is lost when in operation. Like in hybrid cars, deceleration, braking energies are being absorbed as well as energy from such tasks as lowering a load. For the record, no one has attempted making hybrids in this area.

Head researchers Professor Jussi Suomela spoke of the impetus of the project, "These heavy duty machines are operated for long periods of time, so by the end of the day emissions and fuel consumption have added up. Being able to target them is a significant improvement." From recent experimental data, Suomela has show that involving such combustion/electric hybrids in work machinery has the potential to save 50% of the fuel costs in stand alone operation, and even more if the system is plugged into the power grid.

Now it is not a question of can it be done, but when can it be implemented. Great work, Aalto University.

Eavesdropper

Scooters are dangerous. The small front wheel in more prone sudden twisting when one hits a bump or object in the road. But it is hard to resist riding a Fremont Motors all electric scooter "Fido." At speeds of up to 45 miles per hour, this scooter can get you to distances up to 35 miles. This is definitely meant for short trips. However, the battery in easily removed for swapping and external charging. So, if a second or third battery is carried, distance is multiplied. Also, the storage compartment under the seat can be worn as a backpack. Although in the prototype stage, Fremont Motors plans to start selling by the third quarter of 2011 at the $5000 price point. See more at Fremont Motors' website.

What is particularly inspiring about this scooter is not the design, but that fact that one person, Jeb Gast, has entered the automotive industry. Electric scooters already exist. Battery powered motor systems exist. Jeb Gast had an idea for a better electric scooter and rolled with it, so to speak. The most unique part of the scooter is intentional on Gast's part, recharging unit is removable for charging elsewhere. "You should be able to carry everything you need in the glove-box and be  able to charge your battery in your 3rd floor apartment without dragging  the scooter up the stairs or hanging an extension cord out the window." He is focused on a niche market and demographic, and he is poised to succeed. His Do It Yourself message and acheivement is inspiration to us all.

Eavesdropper